The present invention refers to a device for the protection of the interior of an automotive vehicle specifically designed to transport waste. It could be typically used to transport green waste, brush, lawn clippings, garden waste, and the like, to the waste transfer station. This device can also be used for the enclosed transportation of any other object that might soil the interior of the vehicle used for hauling.
The goal of the device described by this invention is to ensure the cleanliness of the interior of an automotive vehicle during such transports. The vehicles involved here are essentially personal vehicles like a SUV or a station wagon with a trunk compartment accessible from the back of the vehicle through a hatchback door that opens vertically, rotating along an upper horizontal hinge. But it can also be adapted to any other type of vehicle like a classic sedan, light-duty trucks, vehicles with a rear door which pivots along a vertical axis, etc.
Nowadays, automobiles interior trim and upholstery are well designed, but are relatively easily damaged and soiled. Specifically, the door, trunk and ceiling trim parts cannot easily be taken apart and/or washed, it can therefore be important to protect one's vehicle's inside when transporting any sort of waste. But these vehicles are made for the transportation of passengers and their luggage and are not designed to hold a device used to protect the interior when transporting waste.
The result is that it is almost impossible to keep the interior of a car clean when transporting green waste to a rubbish dump.
A common solution is to use off-the-shelf tarpaulins, but the dimensions of these products are generally not adapted to provide a proper coating of the entire trunk. Moreover, even with pre-cut tarp sheets, it is difficult to maintain such sheets on substantially vertical sides, such as the side walls of the trunk, and even more difficult to use these sheets as a ceiling protection.
Other known protection devices include a trunk floor liner, a waterproof tray or specific carpet that can be better adapted to the dimensions of the trunk of different car models. But these devices do not offer any protection for the interior sides.
Other also known solutions are wrapping protection devices for small volumes of waste or other items, typically only 100 to 300 liters such as waste bags or wraps, possibly arranged to be almost hermetically closed. The protection provided by such devices can be effective but the useful volume is low and placed in a car trunk, the unusable volume of trunk space may be significant.
Other also known interior protection devices, able to protect all the sides of the cargo space are the following:
FR 2966099 describes such a system having a parallelepiped rectangle frame consisting of tubes assembled by nesting and supporting a tarpaulin covering the six faces of the frame, one of which is an opening that faces the hatch door. Such a system has the drawback of being only usable in a sufficiently regular trunk space for positioning said rectangular frame. Also its dimensions must be specific to each car model, otherwise unusable volume can exist between the structure, its tarp covering and the sides of the trunk space.
DE102004056026 shows in principle a more flexible system as it doesn't use a rigid frame. But the means to hold the protective envelope requires specific fittings to be installed in the vehicle. In addition, the holding of the envelope to these fittings, using hook-and-loop strips (Velcro® type) complicates the installation of the protective envelope. Moreover, the rear side is shaped as a single flap, and the result is that when the flap is open, as when loading or unloading, the rear edges of the lateral walls and of the top of the trunk are not well-protected.
US2013/0161364 shows a device similar to DE102004056026, and the holding means of the protective envelope using straps or hook-and-loop strips that have the same drawbacks as explained before.
In general, the known protective devices either do not allow optimal utilization of trunk space, or do not effectively protect all parts of the vehicle, and or require them to keep using straps or similar fastening devices which may complicate installation.